In The Midst of the Big Move

The "big move" finally happened on Tuesday, August 31.  Finally.  That was the date we closed on the sale of our home in Columbus and simultaneously closed on the purchase of our home in Wisconsin.  Looking back, I didn't think I would make it to this point.  I didn't think I would stay here.  But I did.  I persevered through doubts, regrets, and some really dark moments.  It was almost like an out-of-body experience.  Now, overall, I feel pretty good about the fact that I made it through.  In hindsight, my doubts were based largely in fear.  I still feel scared sometimes.  But I recognize the fear.  And I also recognize that a little bit of confidence and contentment grows in me every day. 

I may write more about the logistics of the move later.  You know, nothing is ever easy, so there were some last minute, unanticipated stressors.  For now, though, I am going to reflect on a diversion we had in the midst of the big move.

My parents-- God love them.  They do some amazing things to make my life easier and better.  Their primary objective in life is to make sure my brother and I have better lives than either of them did growing up.  I'm here to tell you:  mission accomplished. 

I could create a super long list of all the ways my parents have self-sacrificed and contributed over the years to the betterment of my life experience.  For the purposes now, I will simply comment that they helped in a big way with the move from Columbus to Stoughton/Madison.  They worked their tails off and put in some long hours of hard labor.  Moving is a bitch, you know?  Honestly, they are harder workers and have more endurance than either Scott or I do.  They were troupers.  They always are. 

Being away from home for too long takes my Dad way out of his comfort zone and makes him edgy.  (OK- so now you know where I get it.)  Everyone (Scott, my parents, and the pets) arrived in Stoughton late on Tuesday evening, about 9:30 PM.  By Friday, my Dad was ready to go home.  My Mom, however, wanted to stay a couple more days so she was able to convince him to stay until Sunday.  Scott and I were happy they stayed.  Tuesday through Friday of that week was all work.  Unloading, unpacking, carrying things, putting things away, etc.  Saturday, we took a break. 

Saturdays in Madison are all about the Farmer's Market downtown.  I wrote about it in a previous post.  (Click here to see.)  Since Saturday happened to be our day off from move-related work, we ventured downtown to the Farmer's Market.  Truly, for anyone who is in Madison April- October, it's something to experience.

The particular Saturday we went, September 4, it was downright chilly in the morning.  As such, the market wasn't quite as crowded as it had been when Scott and I went previously.  By the time we left, though, it had warmed up and the crowd had picked up considerably.

Before getting to pictures, I have to segue into a short story.  My Dad is a fiscal dichotomy.  In some ways, he is a big spender and in other ways he is ultra conservative-- to the point of being unrealistic about how much things cost.  For example, he will walk into a car dealership and pay cash for a new car-- that's the big spender.  But, ask him to go out to dinner and he will pass because there is food to eat at  home.  That's the conservative side.  His thinking is, "Why would I pay to eat out when there is food right here at the house that your Mother can fix?"  (Note the "that your Mother can fix" part of that.  I guess in his experience, eating at home and eating out are essentially the same thing.  Someone else cooks the food and serves you.)

Anyhow, there are mounds of fresh vegetables at the Farmer's Market (duh?)  Fresh green beans are sold by the pound there.    As we worked our way around the market, the conservative spender part of my Dad had to comment loudly that the price of green beans was increasing from booth to booth.  A vendor overheard his comment (how could she not) and said prices differed based on the size of the beans, to which my Dad replied:  "A pound is a pound." 

He's right.  But I had to get him out of there.  Fast.   

First couple pictures are some of the amazing fresh vegetables.  Not only is it interesting and fun to see the variety of vegetables, it's also cool how some of them are displayed.  It's just so...... Farmer's Market-y.

The dude in the picture below was wearing a great big bee hive hat at the booth where he was selling honey.  I'm guessing the decision to wear a yellow coat wasn't a coincidence.

Here is a close up.  Those little things stuck to the front are (fake) bees.  Right there on the bee hive hat.  Worn by the guy in the yellow coat.  Selling honey.  The brand is "Bee Charmer".

There are a few booths at the Farmer's Market that sell fresh meat.  This is Wisconsin so I'm thinking it's theoretically possible to slaughter a cow Friday and sell fresh steaks at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.  After typing "cow" and "slaughter", I feel sad and compelled to become a vegetarian.

The picture below was taken at one of the booths where they were selling meats.

Now that's kind of cute.  "Doggie Deli".  I am absolutely, 100% certain Rudy and Jada would loooooove to get a hold of those gigantic, smoked bones.  Rudy and Jada didn't get bones though (what they don't know won't hurt them.)  I was afraid it would upset their stomachs.  I don't need another pet with an upset stomach.  I have already cleaned up about 10 piles of cat puke in the past 12 hours, which is also the reason I'm up writing on my blog at 3 AM.  Simon, my big kitty with PICA, apparently has eaten tape or cardboard or something else around here in this "we just moved" environment and has made his tummy upset.  I was awaken at about 2 AM to cat retching.  What a sound and what a lovely way to wake up.  Getting out of bed and immediately having to clean up puke is a super way to start the day. 

*Sigh*  What can I do though?  Sh*t (or in this case, puke) happens.

There I go.  Digressing again.  Back to something more appealing than cat puke... back to the Farmer's Market. 

A few obvious signs that fall is here were found at the market:  decorative gourds and Mums.  I love the purple color on these Mums.  I don't usually see that color at your garden-variety garden stores.

Both times we have been to the Farmer's Market, several vendors have been selling fresh cut flowers....for cheap!  Bunches of these beauties sell for about 5 bucks.

I saw these hanging baskets.  I have no idea what kind of plant/flower this is.  Those....thingies... hanging from it were interesting.  And weird.  They were kind of squiggly and looked foamy.  How's that for a description?  I kind of liked the plant.  More so, I was kind of freaked out by it.   

One last plant picture from the market.  There is just so much cool stuff there.

As you may know, the Madison Farmer's Market is downtown on the square around the Capitol building.  There are several posts on this blog about what a beautiful structure the Capitol building is.  

The Capitol building was open to the public during the time we were at the Farmer's Market, so we ventured in.  OMG.  I thought the outside of the building was special.  The inside blew me away.  It is magnificent.  These pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.  The marble, ornamentation, and murals were awe-inspiring.

This next photo is looking up into the dome of the building.  That center piece is a mural.  Unfortunately the details don't show up in this picture.

As part of the public viewing of the building, the observation deck on the 4th level was open.  We went up there.  Couple things.  #1- The 4th level is  not the same thing as the 4th floor.  The 4th level is up there quite a ways.  Did you know I'm petrified of heights?  Yep.  Petrified like I go into full fledged panic attacks.  Petrified like when I was called to jury duty a couple years ago and had to go across the 14th floor sky walk from the parking ramp to the court house, I had to walk fast and do deep breathing because I thought I would pass out.  Petrified like (what was I thinking?) when Scott and I went on that one ride at King's Island that lifts you in a seat way up in the air and then drops you straight down, I really thought I was going to die when we had reached the top and were waiting to be dropped back down.  After we were dropped and got off the ride, I literally burst into tears. 

In spite of all that history and known fear, I went up to the 4th level observation area at the Capitol building.  Sometimes I'm OK with heights as long as I'm looking out and not down, though that isn't always the case.  On this particular day, I did OK with the looking out part and was actually able to snap a few shots. 

All that was related to #1.  Geesh, I'm long winded on my blog sometimes. 

#2- It was flipping cold and windy on the 4th level.  By the time we were done walking around, I felt like I had been beaten by the wind and I was chilled down to the bone for the rest of the day.

No pain, no gain.  Right?  The wind beating and frost bite were worth it to experience the spectacular views from the 4th level observation area.  Views looking out and not down though.

This first picture is looking out towards Lake Monona and Monona Terrace.  As you can see in the foreground, they were erecting a stage for a band as later in the day after the Farmer's Market, they were hosting "Taste of Madison" downtown.  I have said many times that downtown Madison is dynamic.  I love that.

The next pic is looking from the other side of the building, out towards Lake Mendota, which you can see in the background.  They were erecting another stage on this side of the square as they were having multiple bands for Taste of Madison.  Apparently at least one of the bands was good enough that one of the individuals with disabilities that we support via the company I work for, got into a mosh pit and was subsequently dropped.  Not once.  Not twice.  But three times.  This person already had a traumatic brain injury.  I'm thinking getting dropped 3 times in a mosh pit isn't great for anyone, let alone some with a TBI.  I've seen a number of interesting (disturbing?) incident reports over the years.  This will be a first:  an incident report related to getting dropped at a mosh pit.

I love the sky and clouds in this picture.  Looks like the sky goes on forever but also like you can reach up and touch the clouds.  The sky in these parts is fodder for dreamers. 

There you have it.  In the midst of the big move, we took a break and went downtown to the Farmer's Market.  We did some other things that day, too.  We took my parents to my office so they could see where I work.  We also went to Brennan's.  I love that place.  I'll have to write about it some other time.  And we took my parents to Adler's and had some cheese curds.  You have to have cheese curds when you come to Wisconsin.  It's part of the Wisconsin experience.

Doesn't knowing that cheese curds is part of the Wisconsin experience make you want to leave immediately to come up here to visit??